P: Lightroom 6.14 download is no longer available on Adobe servers

[nettat51857861]

I bought Lightroom 6 sometime in 2017. Now my previous computer broke and lightroom went with it. Well, no problem, I thought, I can download it back from the creative cloud to my new computer. But now it turned out that it can no longer be downloaded. What are my chances now? Can I get compensation or a refund for something for I can no longer use the product I bought and paid for? I didn't get any notice that the download file should be saved to yourself, because adobe no longer offers it for download. What now?

[Rob_Cullen]

It is a sad fact that obsolescence will affect all of us at some time. (I recently had to upgrade my Graphics card)

The 'download' cut-off date of 31/12/2023 was advertised in the forums for some time but if not noticed there it puts you in this annoying situation. There is no support (or compensation) to be had from Adobe for software that is ~7 years old. It is not certain, but even activating Lr6 to run it on a new computer system (if you can find a download) may not be possible now.

The way forward is to subscribe to the Photography Plan (20GB) and upgrade to Version 13, now called "Lightroom-Classic" (a big advance on v6).

@ BUY PHOTOGRAPHY PLANS

[FSt0p]

Let me ask you something.

You upgraded your GPU because nVidia/AMD disabled your previous one?

I don't think so.

It was you decision because you wanted something better.

Which is definitely not the case here.
OP is happy with Lightroom 6 and just want to get something he paid for with his own money.

And he just can't.

Imagine you are living in a house you bought with your own money.

And one day building company who build it came to you and say "Move out, we decided that the house is obsolete and will be destroyed - buy yourself a new one".

Will you still be convinsing everyone that it's ok?

I agree that this is how software companies are acting now and there is not much we can do, but it's definitely very far from "Ok"!

[John R Ellis]

You can download it from here, a trusted site:

https://prodesigntools.com/adobe-cc-2015-direct-download-links.html#download-instructions

[dj_paige]

This trusted site has been disabled. Clicking the download linke there produces this message

Starting with 12/31/2023, Adobe has ended support for downloading Lightroom 6.14. This means that you'll not be able to download Lightroom version 6.14.

[FSt0p]

Prodesigntools does not host any installers.

They just collect links to Adobe download servers, so if removed from Adobe - will not be available there too unfortunately.

[Keith Reeder]

"Can I get compensation or a refund for something for I can no longer use the product I bought and paid for? "

No. Your perpetual licence only bought you the right to use Lr 6 while it was available. (ie for the life of the software.)

Adobe can withdraw a product at its whim, (this right is clearly stated in the End User Licence Agreement (EULA) which you accepted when you bought) and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it except move on.

"The 'download' cut-off date of 31/12/2023 was advertised in the forums"

Not only here, Rob - it was widely publicised in online (and, I imagine, paper) photography websites and magazines for a few months beforehand. 

As DJ points out, the direct link to Lr6 hosted by Prodesigntools seems to have linked to Adobe's source file, so that''s that for Lr6, by the look of it...

[FSt0p]

No. Your perpetual licence only bought you the right to use Lr 6 while it was available. (ie for the life of the software.)

What you are saying is that people are paying for nothing, because that "life of the software" is not known and is not specified anywhere at the time of purchase - they can as well shut it down in a day, month or in a hundred years - noone knows.

And those software companies are then wondering why people are joining captain Jack Sparrow team...

[Keith Reeder]

What I am saying is right. Adobe is under no obligation to maintain a permanent repository of exe files for defunct versions of its software.

(Just spend a moment thinking about what a stupid notion that would be - I can no longer download version 6 of Capture One, either...)

And read what Nancy O'Shea had to say about it in 2021:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/download-install-discussions/lifetime-license-of-lightroom-6-is-not-f...

Them's the breaks - welcome to the Real World.

"And those software companies are then wondering why people are joining captain Jack Sparrow team..."

I doubt they're wondering at all - they'll be well aware that the world is full of dishonest, freeloading cheapskates.

[Conrad_C]

What you are saying is that people are paying for nothing, because that "life of the software" is not known and is not specified anywhere at the time of purchase - they can as well shut it down in a day, month or in a hundred years - noone knows.

By @FSt0p

This has always been true, regardless of policy or license. I have hundreds of dollars of software bought over many years that was never “cut off” by anyone, but as I got newer hardware and OSs, the old apps just don’t run anymore, or don’t run well, and can’t be re-downloaded any more. The earlier titles were only available on disk, so it was back then that I learned my lesson: If I want to make sure I can always re-install something important, I need to always know where the original media is in case it can’t be replaced. If it was downloaded software, I made sure I archived a copy.

If you look at the software license for most apps and OSs, there is usually a paragraph in there that specifically says you get no guarantees as to how long it will be useful to you, and when you decide to use the software (therefore agreeing to the Terms), you agree to that. I just looked up the Terms of Service for an Adobe competitor who makes a photo app that is very affordable and non-subscription, and it uses this very common wording:

The services and content are provided by _____ (and its licensors and suppliers) on an “as-is” basis, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, noninfringement, or that use of the services will be uninterrupted or error-free.

[John R Ellis]

You can download LR 6.14 from the Internet Archive:

Mac: https://web.archive.org/web/20231114161051mp_/https://prdl-download.adobe.com/Lightroom/60BA1251F1BC...

Win: https://web.archive.org/web/20231220005239mp_/https://prdl-download.adobe.com/Lightroom/60BA1251F1BC...

Note that the downloads can take a minute or two to start and can proceed slowly, so be patient.

[DdeGannes]

Having a 6.14  installer is one issue, however you may still have activate the software. Lr 6.14 will two activated units, if have two older units activated you will have to deactivate one to activate on a new unit.

That process requires Adobe Support to happen, I am not sure if that would be or not.

Activating a new installation will happen with Adobe assistance.

[firstl43167337]

Thanks very much for posting the Internet Archive links.  Are there any checksums or other ways to verify those downloads are legitimate?

[Rob_Cullen]

I would trust the integrity of John Ellis who posted the link.

Unless you have a v6 licence or a subscription to the Photography Plan, v6 will be useless for you and a download pointless.

And the question is still 'open for clarification'- Can Lr6 be activated at all?

[firstl43167337]

Yes, I have a v6 license, but neglegted to download the 6.14 installer before the 12/31/23 deadline.  Understood on the activation point, but wanted to at least be able to try.

[John R Ellis]

"Thanks very much for posting the Internet Archive links.  Are there any checksums or other ways to verify those downloads are legitimate?"

The links come from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, whose crawlers made copies of the old versions of the Adobe help article and the LR 6.14 installers the article linked to:

https://web.archive.org/web/20231220005239/https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/lightroom-...

The Internet Archive is a highly trustworthy nonprofit: 

https://archive.org/about/

[errebe]

Thanks for the links... unfortunately, seems it's a 32 bits app...

[John R Ellis]

@errebe: "Thanks for the links... unfortunately, seems it's a 32 bits app..."

The installer is 32 bits, the app itself is 64, which means it won't install on versions of Mac OS later than 10.14. You can try copying an existing installation to a newer version of Mac OS, which has sometimes worked for me. You'd also have to read this thread for details on how to active it without an Internet connection, since Adobe's activation service is no longer up.

[errebe]

The problem is I had to format my hard disk and didn't keep a copy of the installer... I'm afraid not much to do, nothng works... thanks anyway for your help...!!!

[dj_paige]

I don't think Adobe has "withdrawn" the product called Lr 6. People who have installed Lr 6 on their computers can continue to use it. Nothing — and certainly not Adobe — is stopping them from continuing to use Lr 6.

However, you can no longer download the installer file for Lr 6. That's the only thing that has been withdrawn.

Furthermore, if the OP (or anyone) can find a copy of the Lr 6 installer file (like from a fellow photographer or local photography club), there's a good chance that you can still install it and use it on Windows and on older Mac operating systems.

[FSt0p]

Try to contact Adobe tech support by chat - they maybe will be able to provide installer.

That's if you want it from reputable source.

Otherwise just find it over Internet - that shouldn't be too hard.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Please see: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/lightroom-6-end-of-support.html 

[smooth_day5E33]

Hello Adobe Community. I know I'm a little late in 2024 with the question about Lightroom 6. I have an old IMac on which I can't install the latest macOS and that's why I need Lightroom6 for that. When I wanted to download today I saw that it has no longer been available since 2024. Does anyone else have the .dmg for Lightroom6 on their hard drive? Thank you in advance Marcel

[dj_paige]

https://prodesigntools.com/adobe-cc-2015-direct-download-links.html#download-instructions

Do yourself a favor and save this downloaded file somewhere that you can find it, if you ever need it again in the future.

[smooth_day5E33]

Hi dj_paige and thanks for the quick answer. I tried but get the following message when I click on the link: Starting with 12/31/2023, Adobe has ended support for downloading Lightroom 6.14. This means that you'll not be able to download Lightroom version 6.14.